President Donald Trump spoke from the Oval Office on Thursday, disregarding the upcoming nuclear summit in Beijing between three US chief enemies, Iran, Russia and China
The debate, first confirmed by China’s foreign ministry on Thursday, days after Iran refused to promote Trump to engage in nuclear negotiations, coincides with a UN Security Council meeting on the expansion of Tehran’s weapon-grade uranium.
Trump has suggested that perhaps Beijing, Moscow and Tehran will have their own discussions about “de-escalation.”
“Well, maybe they’re going to talk about the nuclear-free issue. Maybe they’re talking about nuclear de-escalation,” Trump told reporters.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, North Korean dictator Kim Jong (Getty Images)
Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin were once engaged in “strong” discussions on nuclear weapons and believe that if he wins the 2016 election, there would be further denuclearization of Russia on the table.
“I think I’ve signed a deal with Putin on removal and denuclearization,” Trump said. “However, the power of nuclear weapons is so great and devastating that they have ruled out nuclear weapons.”
The president also argued that China will “catch us in five years” due to the rapid development of nuclear stockpiles, but this will be much faster than other experts have warned.
The 2024 Pentagon rated China as being believed to have 600 nuclear weapons from the low nuclear weapons of the 2020 200s. However, in a report on Wednesday, experts with a bulletin for atomic scientists claimed that China will be “peer” or “near peer” with the US in the near future.
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President Donald Trump will speak at a meeting with NATO Executive Director Mark Latte at the White House Oval Office in Washington, DC on March 13, 2025. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
“There is no evidence that China’s continued nuclear expansion will be comparable to US arsenals,” the report said. “Even the worst 2023 projection of 1,500 warheads by 2035 will be less than half of the current US nuclear stockpile.”
Russia is believed to have 5,580 nuclear weapons, and the US is reported to have 5,225, but China is in the far third, according to the Arms Control Association.
Concerns over North Korea’s largely unchecked nuclear programme have also continued to tackle in recent years, particularly after Pyongyang formed close ties with Moscow after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“If we can reduce the numbers, that’s going to be a huge achievement,” Trump said.
“You don’t need them to that extent,” he added, noting that even one nuclear weapon can achieve great destruction.
North Korea is estimated to have 50 nuclear weapons, and Trump said it was “a lot.”
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the Centre, will oversee artillery drills in North Korea on March 7, 2024. (Korea Central News Service via the Associated Press/Korea News Service, File)
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However, he also pointed to a positive relationship with UN Kim Jong during his first presidency, suggesting that relations could be expanded in his second term. Trump appeared to suggest that there could be room for nuclear negotiations.
“I have a great relationship with Kim Jong Un. We’ll see what happens,” Trump told reporters. “But he’s certainly nuclear.”
